Straightening machine

ABSTRACT

The ends of a horizontal bar are secured to the spaced end housings of a straightening machine. Mounted on the bar are housings for two vertically spaced rows of rolls, the housings in the lower row alternating with the housings in the upper roll. During straightening, the housings for the upper rolls press upwardly on the bar while the housings for the lower rolls press downwardly on it.

Umted States Patent 1 1 1111 3,834,203 Thompson Sept. 10, 1974STRAIGHTENING MACHINE 3,492,852 2/1970 Perner 72/164 Ad 7 [75] Inventor:Elbert Gordon Thompson, State 362l693 11/1971 ams 2/164 College PrimaryExaminer-Milton S. Mehr Assigneei Sutton Engineering p y Attorney,Agent, or FirmBr0wn, Murray, Flick &

Pittsburgh, Pa. Peckham [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1972 211 App]. No.2 310,974[57] ABSTRACT The ends of a horizontal bar are secured to the spaced endhousings of a straightening machine. Mounted on CCll. the bar arehousings for two vertically Spaced rows of [58] d 160 163 rolls, thehousings in the lower row alternating with le c the housings in theupper roll. During straightening, the housings for the upper rolls pressupwardly on the [56] References cued bar while the housings for thelower rolls press down- UNITED STATES PATENTS wardly on it 2,720,24310/1955 Siegerist 72/164 2,720,243 10/1955 Siegerist 72/164 x 3 Clams, 3Drawmg Flgllres PAIENTEDSEPI DISH I r SHEET 30F 3v I STRAIGHTENINGMACHINE It is among the objects of this invention to provide astraightening machine which is relatively simple and inexpensive inconstruction; in which the housings for the upper and lower rolls areall mounted on a horizontal bar, and in which the roll housings can beadjusted individually along the bar.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view;

FIG. 2 is a side view with parts broken away in section; and

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical section taken on the line 111-111 of FIG.2.

Referring to the drawings, a straightening machine for bars and rods hasfront and rear end housings 1 and 2 connected by a heavy support bar 3,the ends of which are rigidly mounted in the housings. The bar is shownround, but could have some other shape if desired. Mounted on this baris a plurality of roll housings that carry the straightening rolls. Oneset of housings 4 carries a lower row of rolls 5, and the other set 6carries an upper row of rolls 7 that are staggered relative to the lowerrolls. The straightening pass is between the two rows. As shown in FIG.3, each housing for a lower roll contains a rotatable shaft 9 supportingat its inner end a bevel gear 10 that meshes with another bevel gear 11rotatably mounted in a gear box 12. The second gear is splined on ahorizontal drive shaft 13, one end of which is joumaled in the front endhousing 1. The opposite end of this shaft is rotatably mounted in a gearhousing 14 where it is driven through reduction gears from an electricalmotor 15 shown in FIG. 1. Consequently, all of the lower rolls aredriven in unison from the drive shaft. The housings for the upper rollsalso contain roll shafts 16, but they are not driven. However, theseshafts can be adjusted axially in the usual way when desired.

The bottom of each lower roll housing 4 has a pair of parallel legs, asshown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each of which includes outer and inner bottomclamping blocks 18 and 19 held in place by screws 20. The top of eachouter block 18 and the housing above it are provided with semicircularrecesses that form a circular opening receiving the support bar 3, whichnormally is clamped therein. Each inner block 19 is clamped against aninner support bar 21 parallel to outer bar 3 and likewise having itsends mounted in the end housings of the machine. Consequently, the lowerroll housings are supported by the two parallel support bars.

The narrow lower end of each upper roll housing 6 likewise fits aroundsupport bars 3 and 21. Recessed clamping blocks 23 like blocks 18 and 19clamp the housing on the bars as shown in FIG. 2. The upper portion ofeach upper housing is considerably wider than its lower end and isprovided with a window in which the upper roll support 24 is disposedand is slidable up and down. This support is in turn supported by aconventional screwdown mechanism 25 operated by a hand wheel 26 foradjusting the upper roll vertically in its housing. The back part of thetop of each upper roll housing is provided with aligned transverseopenings, through which extends an upper bar 27 that is parallel to thetwo lower support bars. The ends of this bar are mounted in the endhousings of the machine. As shown in FIG. 3, the bar-receiving openingsare formed by To permit the various roll housings to be spaced differentdistances apart to suit different straightening requirements, the twoouter clamping blocks 18 of each lower roll housing are connected bybearingmembers 31 between them beneath support bar 3. A rotatable shaft32 is journaled in these bearings and its inner end carries a gear 33meshes with a rack bar 34 above it. The rack bar extends lengthwise ofthe machine, with its ends mounted in the end housings. The legs of eachlower roll housing also are connected by a cross piece 35, to which aresecured downward projecting guide members 36 that straddle and helpsupport the rack bar but can slide along it. When the outer end of shaft32 is turned by a crank or wrench 37 after screws 20 have been loosened,the rotating gear 33 will travel along the stationary rack bar andthereby slide the roll housing lengthwise of the machine along thesupport bars 3 and 21 to the desired position.

The upper roll housings likewise are adjustable lengthwise of themachine in the same general manner. Thus, a horizontal shaft 40 isrotatably mounted in the upper part of each upper housing and carries agear 41 on is inner end. The gear meshes with the toothed bottom of ahorizontal rack bar 42, the ends of which are rigidly mounted in the endhousings. When the outer end of the shaft is turned by a wrench or thelike after the bottom clamping blocks 23 and screws 29 at the top havebeen loosened, the gear moves along the rack bar to slide the housingalong all three bars 3, 21 and 27. Upper bar 27 serves more as a guidethan a supporting bar.

The straightening machine construction described herein provides asimple and relatively easy way to adjust the roll housings relative toone another lengthwise of the machine. It also provides a simple andrelatively inexpensive way to support the roll housings, since they aresupported only by the three large bars that connect the end housings.Since both sets of roll housings, both upper and lower, are all mountedon the two lower support bars 3 and 21, the vertical stresses andstrains that the housings exert on those bars during straighteningoperations are all absorbed by the bars themselves. The upward pull onthe bars exerted by the upper housings is balanced by the downward pushon the bars exerted by the lower housings. Since the housings are soclose together, the tendency of these forces to put a wave in the barsis overcome. The construction of the straightening machine is greatlysimplified, because its end housings are connected only by the threehorizontal bars, and the strain put on the rolls and their housingsduring straightening are not transmitted by those bars to the endhousings.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

1. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontalsupport bar between said housings and secured thereto, two verticallyspaced rows of rolls between the end housings, housings for said rollsmounted on said bar, the housings for the rolls in the lower rowalternating with the housings for the rolls in the upper row, and theupper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, wherebyduring straightening the housings for the upper rolls press upwardly onsaid bar while the housings for the lower rolls press downwardly on it,a second bar above and parallel to said support bar, and a third barbeside and parallel to said support bar, the ends of said second andthird bars being secured to said end housings, both rows of rolls beingdisposed between said support bar and second bar, the housings for theupper row of rolls being lower row on all three bars, and the housingsfor the lowerrow of rolls being mounted on only said support bar andsaid third bar.

2. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontalsupport bar between said housings and secured thereto, two verticallyspaced rows of rolls between the end housings, housings for said rollsmounted on said bar, the housings for the rolls in the lower rowalternating with the housings for the rolls in the upper row, and theupper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, wherebyduring straightening the housings for the upper rolls press upwardly onsaid bar while the housings for the lower rolls press downwardly on it,said roll housings being slidably mounted on said support bar to varythe spacing between them, two stationary rack bars extending lengthwiseof the machine between the end housings, a rotatable shaft mounted ineach roll housing, a gear on each shaft, the gears carried by thehousings for the lower rolls meshing with one of said rack bars, therest of said gears meshing with the other rack bar, and means forturning said shafts to adjust the roll housings along the bars.

3. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontalsupport bar between said housings and secured thereto, two verticallyspaced rows of rolls between the end housings, parallel roll shaftscarrying said rolls and extending therefrom across the top of thesupport bar, and housings rotatably supporting said roll shafts andmounted on said bar, the housings for the roll shafts in the lower rollalternating with the housings for the roll shafts in the upper row, andthe upper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, thehousings for the upper roll shafts extending beneath the bottom of saidbar in engagement therewith, and the housings for the lower roll shaftsextending across the top of said bar in engagement therewith, wherebyduring straightening the housings for the upper roll shafts pressupwardly on the bottom of said bar while the housings for the lower rollshafts press downwardly on the top of it.

1. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontal support bar between said housings and secured thereto, two vertically spaced rows of rolls between the end housings, housings for said rolls mounted on said bar, the housings for the rolls in the lower row alternating with the housings for the rolls in the upper row, and the upper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, whereby during straightening the housings for the upper rolls Press upwardly on said bar while the housings for the lower rolls press downwardly on it, a second bar above and parallel to said support bar, and a third bar beside and parallel to said support bar, the ends of said second and third bars being secured to said end housings, both rows of rolls being disposed between said support bar and second bar, the housings for the upper row of rolls being lower row on all three bars, and the housings for the lowerrow of rolls being mounted on only said support bar and said third bar.
 2. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontal support bar between said housings and secured thereto, two vertically spaced rows of rolls between the end housings, housings for said rolls mounted on said bar, the housings for the rolls in the lower row alternating with the housings for the rolls in the upper row, and the upper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, whereby during straightening the housings for the upper rolls press upwardly on said bar while the housings for the lower rolls press downwardly on it, said roll housings being slidably mounted on said support bar to vary the spacing between them, two stationary rack bars extending lengthwise of the machine between the end housings, a rotatable shaft mounted in each roll housing, a gear on each shaft, the gears carried by the housings for the lower rolls meshing with one of said rack bars, the rest of said gears meshing with the other rack bar, and means for turning said shafts to adjust the roll housings along the bars.
 3. A straightening machine comprising spaced end housings, a horizontal support bar between said housings and secured thereto, two vertically spaced rows of rolls between the end housings, parallel roll shafts carrying said rolls and extending therefrom across the top of the support bar, and housings rotatably supporting said roll shafts and mounted on said bar, the housings for the roll shafts in the lower roll alternating with the housings for the roll shafts in the upper row, and the upper and lower rows of rolls forming a pass between them, the housings for the upper roll shafts extending beneath the bottom of said bar in engagement therewith, and the housings for the lower roll shafts extending across the top of said bar in engagement therewith, whereby during straightening the housings for the upper roll shafts press upwardly on the bottom of said bar while the housings for the lower roll shafts press downwardly on the top of it. 